Guard for sewing machines



Aug. 16, 1938. M. McCANN GUARD FOR SEWING MACHINES Filed March 4, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 M can".

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Aug. 16, 1938. M. MccANN GUARD FOR SEWING MACHINES 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 4, 1936 I l-E Wifweb:

Patented Aug. 16, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT FFiCE The Singer Manufacturing Company, Elizabeth, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application March 4,

14 Claims.

This invention relates to guards for sewing machines and more particularly to guards adapted to be applied to button-sewing machines to protect the operator against injury by flying pieces, should either the needle or button break during the sewing operation.

The primary object of the invention is to provide an improved guard of this nature, which will be positioned between the needle and the operator during the sewing operation and which will be shifted to another position, in which it will give ready access to the needle and button-clamp, after the button has been attached to the work.

Another object of the invention is to provide a guard which will have a relatively small movement between operative and inoperative positions and which, when in its inoperative position, will be wholly out of the normal field of movement of the operators hands and which, therefore, will not, in any Way, interfere with the operation of the machine.

Still another object of the invention is to render available a guard of the type above described, which, in moving from operative position to in operative position, will not traverse the normal field of operation of the operators hands and which, therefore, will not be capable of injuring the operator during such movement.

These objects have been attained by the provision of a guard element arranged in a substantially vertical plane between the operator and the needle during the sewing operation and adapted to be moved first upward and then tipped inwardly to an out-of-the-way inoperative position, when, for example, the operator raises the button-clamp to break the thread and to remove the work, at the completion of a stitching cycle.

Other objects and advantages will be in part indicated in the following description and in part rendered apparent therefrom in connection with the drawings, depicting a preferred typical construction, which have been annexed as a part of this disclosure and in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a Singer Class 175 button-sewing machine having attached thereto the present invention, showing in full lines, the guard in its operative position and, in dotted lines, its inoperative or retracted position.

Fig. 2 is a right end elevation of the machine shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail View looking in the direction of the arrow at in Fig. 2, showing in full and dotted lines the means for tipping the guard as it is moved into its inoperative position.

Fig. 4 is a detail sectional View taken on the 1936, Serial No. 67,042

line l4 of Fig. 1, illustrating one means for attaching the guard-actuating lever to existing machines.

Fig. 5 is a view, similar to Fig. 4, illustrating a slightly modified form of means for attaching the guard-actuating lever to the frame of a sewing machine.

Referring more specifically to the drawings the invention is disclosed as embodied in a Singer Class 1'75 button-sewing machine having a frame comprising a base i, standard 2, bracket-arm 3 and head Q. Mounted within the head t, and actuated by mechanism not shown, is the usual reciprocatory needle-bar 5 which carries, at its lower end, a needle 6. The needle cooperates with a suitable looper mechanism, not shown, located within the base 9, to sew buttons to work placed intermediate the needle and the looper. The base supports a button-clamp, designated generally as l, having jaws 8 adapted to hold buttons for attachment to the work by the action of the stitch-forming mechanism. The region where the needle passes through the button and cooperates with the looper in the formation of stitches is hereinafter referred to as the stitching point.

The button-clamp is pivoted at 9 and is maintained normally in the position shown in full lines in Fig. l by the action of a spring-pressed plunger Ill, as shown in U. S. patent to Lyons,

No. 1,583,062, May 4, 1926. Manual means is provided for lifting the button-clamp, in opposition to the plunger i0, thereby to break the thread after the stitching operation has been completed and to facilitate removal of the workpiece and the re-insertion thereof, or the insertion of a new work-piece, beneath the buttonclamp for the next succeeding operation. This means comprises a rock-shaft H journaled in the arm 3 and having, adjacent one end, an arm 52 connected, by a chain 53, with the buttonclamp. At its opposite end the shaft ll carries a second rock-arm M which extends in the opposite direction and which is connected to a treadleactuated rod E5, the treadle-connection therewith being indicated at V8. From the foregoing it will be apparent that actuation of a suitable treadle, not shown, will draw the rod l5 downwardly, thus rocking the shaft H counter-clockwise, as viewed in Fig. 2, and lifting the buttonclamp to the position indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 1.

As heroinbcfore stated, this invention relates primarily to the provision of a guard which will protect the operator against injury by flying pieces should either the needle or button break during a sewing operation. The guard preferably comprises a frame-like member I! pivotally mounted, at I8, upon the forward end of a guard-supporting and actuating lever l9, fulcrumed on a stud 20, secured to the arm 3. As shown, the member I! supports a transparent guard-plate 2| which, during the sewing operation, is arranged vertically between the operator and the needle and button. It is, however, not essential that the guard-plate be transparent and, if desired, the plate 2| may be formed as an integral part of the member IT.

The guard member is yieldingly maintained in the position shown in full lines in Figs. 1 and 3, on the lever H! by the action of a spring 22 which normally holds a stop-finger 23 in contact with the down-turned portion If! of the lever l9. This construction permits the guard to be tipped to the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1 when the forward end of the lever i9 is swung upwardly. This tipping action is illustrated by the two dotted positions a and b in Fig. 3 and is effected by the reaction caused when a stud 24, carried by the guard member, engages the under side of the head 4 and the upward movement of the lever I9 is continued. The tipping movement of the guard member places it in a position shown in dotted lines in Fig. l in which it is completely out of the way of the operators hands when manipulating the work and when placing buttons in the button-clamp.

The rear end of the lever I9 is connected to the rod l5 through the medium of an arm 25, removably secured to the rod [5, and a stud 26 carried by the lever [B and engaged by the forked end 25 of the arm 25. This connection acts as a motion-multiplying mechanism whereby the lever l9 and the guard-member supported thereby are given a substantial movement from a relatively small movement of the clamp-lifting means.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 4 the fulcrum stud 20 of the lever I9 is secured, by a nut 26, in a slot 21 common to Singer Class button sewing machines, the primary purpose of this slot being to permit adjustment, lengthwise of the arm, of a needle-vibrating fulcrum block 204, as shown more clearly in U. S. patent to Morris, No. 1,606,173, Nov. 9, 1926. Thus it will be perceived that the present guard may be applied readily as an attachment to existing sewing machines without any machining operations.

Likewise, the guard may be embodied in other sewing machines not provided with the slot 21. In such machines the fulcrum-stud 20 may be threaded into a tapped hole 28 formed in a wall 29 of the machine frame, as shown in Fig. 5.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that the present guard may be applied to sewing machines either as an attachment or as an integral part of a composite machine.

Having thus set forth the nature of the invention, what I claim herein is:

1. In a sewing machine having a button-clamp, stitch-forming mechanism including a reciprocatory needle, and means to move said buttonclamp relative to said stitch-forming mechanism; of a vertically disposed guard member normally located adjacent said needle, means actuated simultaneously with the movement of said button-clamp to lift said guard vertically, and means including a member movable with said guard and adapted to engage a fixed portion of the machine to tip the bottom portion of said guard inwardly toward said needle.

2. In a sewing machine having a frame, a button-clamp, stitch-forming mechanism including a reciprocatory needle, and means to move said button-clamp relative to said stitch-forming mechanism; of a lever pivotally mounted on said frame, a guard member pivotally mounted on said lever and located adjacent said needle, spring means normally tending to maintain said guard member substantially vertical, means actuated simultaneously with the movement of said button-clamp to swing said lever vertically, and means actuated by the movement of said lever first to raise said guard member and then to tip it relative to its supporting lever.

3. In combination with a sewing machine having a frame, a button-clamp, stitch-forming mechanism including a reciprocatory needle, and manually operated means for lifting said buttonclamp; a lever fulcrumed intermediate its ends on a horizontal axis supported by said frame, a guard member pivotally mounted on a horizontal axis on the forward end of saidlever, means connecting the rearward end of said lever with said button-clamp lifting means, whereby the lever is tipped about its horizontal axis when the button-clamp is lifted, and means actuated by the upward movement of the forward end of said lever to tip said guard member about its pivotal point.

4. In combination with a sewing machine having a frame, a button-clamp, stitch-forming mechanism including a reciprocatory needle, and manually operated means for lifting said buttonclamp; a lever fulcrumed intermediate its ends on said frame, a guard member pivotally mounted on the forward end of said lever, motion-multiplying means connecting the rearward end of said lever with said button-clamp lifting means, whereby the lever is tipped a substantial amount about its axis by a relatively small movement of said clamp-lifting means, and means actuated by the upward movement of the forward end of said lever to tip said guard member about its pivotal point.

5. A guard for sewing machines comprising a lever adapted to be fulcrumed intermediate its ends on a horizontal axis, a guard plate pivotally secured to said lever on a horizontal axis, spring means normally holding said guard plate in a predetermined position on said lever, means for rocking said lever thereby to shift said guard plate bodily, and an abutment surface provided by said guard plate adapted, during bodily movement of said member, to engage a fixed portion of a sewing machine, thereby to tip said guard plate relative to its supporting lever.

6. A guard for a sewing machine having a frame and a reciprocatory needle, comprising a lever fulcrumed on said frame, a guard plate pivotally secured to said lever and maintained normally adjacent the stitching point of the machine, spring means normally holding said guard plate in a predetermined position on said lever, means for rocking said lever to shift said guard plate vertically to a position remote from said stitching point, and a stud carried by said guard plate adapted during bodily movement of said member to engage a fixed portion of the sewing machine, thereby to tip said guard-plate relative to its supporting lever to position the lower portion of said plate adjacent said needle.

7. An attachment for a sewing machine com prising a stud adapted to be secured to the frame of the sewing machine, a lever fulcrumed on said stud, a guard plate pivotally secured to said lever and normally maintained adjacent the stitching point of the machine, spring means normally holding said guard-plate in a predetermined position on said lever, means for rocking said lever thereby to shift said guard plate bodily to a position remote from said stitching point, and an abutment surface provided by said guard-plate adapted during bodily movement of said member to engage a fixed portion of a sewing machine, thereby to tip said guard plate relative to its supporting lever.

B. An attachment for a sewing machine having a frame provided with a slot, a button-clamp, stitch-forming mechanism including a reciprocatory needle, and means to move said buttonclamp relative to said stitch-forming mechanism, comprising a fulcrum-stud secured in said slot, a lever extending lengthwise of said frame and pivotally mounted on said stud, a guard member pivotally mounted on the forward end of said lever adjacent said needle, spring means normally tending to maintain said guard member adjacent said button-clamp and in a substantially vertical position, means actuated by said buttonclamp moving means to swing the forward end of said lever upwardly, and means actuated by said upward movement to tip said guard relative to its supporting lever.

9. In a sewing machine having a button-clamp and stitch-forming mechanism including a reciprocatory needle, a vertically disposed pivotally mounted guard member normally located adjacent said needle, at the operators side thereof, means to lift said guard member vertically, and means including a member movable with said guard and adapted to engage a fixed portion of the machine to tipthe bottom portion thereof inwardly toward said needle.

10. In a sewing machine having a buttonclamp, means to lift said button-clamp, and stitch-forming mechanism including a reciprocatory needle, a support having a vertically movable portion, a guard member pivotally connected to the vertically movable portion of said support and located adjacent said needle, at the operators side thereof, means rendered effective by the button-clamp lifting means to lift said guard member bodily, and means, rendered effective by the upward movement of the guard, to tip said guard member about its pivot, thereby to move the bottom portion of the guard member inwardly toward said needle.

11. In a sewing machine having a frame, a button-clamp, stitch-forming mechanism including a reciprocatory needle, and means to move said button-clamp relative to said stitch-forming mechanism; of a lever supported from said frame, a guard member pivotally mounted upon said lever, means actuated simultaneously with the movement of the button-clamp to move said lever and thereby lift said guard member bodily, and means to tip said guard member about its pivot, thereby to move the bottom portion thereof inwardly toward said needle.

12. An attachment for a sewing machine, comprising a supporting member adapted to be secured to the frame of the machine, a vertically movable lever pivotally mounted upon said supporting member, a vertically movable guard member pivotally mounted upon said lever and adapted to be moved bodily thereby, and means including an element connected to said guard member and adapted to cooperate with a fixed surface during the upward movement of the guard member to tip said guard member about its pivot, thereby to move the bottom portion thereof inwardly toward the machine needle.

13. In a sewing machine, in combination, a button-clamp, lifting means therefor, stitchforming mechanism including a reciprocatory needle, a support, a lever pivoted to said support, a vertically disposed guard member pivotally mounted on said lever and normally located adjacent said needle at the operators side thereof, means actuated in timed relation with the button-clamp lifting means to lift said lever and guard member vertically, and means including a member attached to and movable with said guard and having a sliding engagement with said support to tip said guard member about its pivot, thereby to move the bottom portion of the guard toward said needle.

14. In a sewing machine, in combination,

stitch-forming mechanism including a reciprocatory needle, a button-clamp, means to lift said button-clamp, a support, a lever pivoted to said support, a vertically disposed guard member pivotally mounted on said lever and normally located adjacent said needle, at the operators side thereof, means actuated in timed relation with with said button-clamp lifting means to lift said guard member vertically as said button-clamp is lifted, and other means, actuated automatically by the upward movement of said guard-member and having a sliding contact between said guardmember and said support, for tipping said guard member about its pivot to place the bottom portion thereof closer to said needle.

MICHAEL MCCANN, 

